CN118451717A - Video bit rate adaptation in video transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

Wireless communication systems and methods related to video telephony are provided. A device can actively reduce the bit rate at which a video is encoded based on one or more radio metrics at the start of a video call. The radio metrics used can include received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal reception quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR), and block error rate (BER). The active reduction in bit rate is performed before transmitting or receiving video data. The device can also request a second device that is transmitting video to transmit the video at a reduced bit rate.

Description

Video bit rate adaptation in video transmission

Technical Field

The present application relates to wireless communication devices, systems and methods, and more particularly, to devices, systems and methods for manipulating bit rates in video telephony to improve user experience.

Background technique

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple-access communication system may include several base stations (BSs), each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise referred to as user equipment (UE).

In order to meet the growing demand for extended mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technology is evolving from long term evolution (LTE) technology to next generation new radio (NR) technology, which may be referred to as fifth generation (5G), designed to provide lower latency, higher bandwidth or higher throughput, and higher reliability than LTE. Wireless communication systems are commonly used for two-way video communication (video telephony). Many systems adapt the bit rate of video communication when video packets are delayed or dropped in order to improve the overall video quality. Video quality may be compromised at the start of a video call due to waiting for information about the video stream itself in order to adapt the bit rate. Therefore, there is a need for an improved method for determining and configuring the video bit rate throughout a video call to avoid video quality degradation.

Summary of the invention

The following summarizes some aspects of the disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the technology discussed. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all features contemplated by the disclosure, and is neither intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects of the disclosure, nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in a summarized form as a prelude to more specific embodiments presented later.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes receiving, by a first wireless communication device, an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel. The method also includes receiving, by the first wireless communication device, an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application. The method also includes measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel. The method also includes configuring, by the first wireless communication device, an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric before transmitting video data. The method also includes transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a first wireless communication device includes a transceiver configured to receive an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel. The transceiver is further configured to receive an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application. The transceiver is further configured to measure a radio metric associated with the communication channel. The first wireless communication device also includes a processor configured to configure an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric before transmitting video data. The transceiver is further configured to transmit the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising: code for causing a first wireless communication device to receive an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel; code for causing the first wireless communication device to receive an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application; code for causing the first wireless communication device to measure a radio metric associated with the communication channel; code for causing the first wireless communication device to configure an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric before transmitting video data; and code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a first wireless communication device includes: a component for receiving, by the first wireless communication device, an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel; a component for receiving an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application; a component for measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel; a component for configuring, by the first wireless communication device, an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric before transmitting video data; and a component for transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

After reviewing the following description of specific exemplary aspects of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects and feature aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although features of the present invention may be discussed below with respect to certain aspects and drawings, all aspects of the present invention may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more aspects may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used according to the various aspects of the invention discussed herein. In a similar manner, although exemplary aspects may be discussed below as aspects of devices, systems, or methods, it should be understood that such exemplary aspects may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure.

2 is a block diagram of an example base station according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

3 is a block diagram of example user equipment according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

4 is an example communication protocol diagram according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

5-6 are exemplary flow charts according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

The specific embodiments described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings are intended to be descriptions of various configurations and are not intended to represent the only configurations that can practice the concepts described herein. In order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the various concepts, the specific embodiments include specific details. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, in order to avoid blurring these concepts, known structures and components are shown in block diagram form.

The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication systems, which are also referred to as wireless communication networks. In various aspects, various technologies and devices can be used for wireless communication networks, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, global mobile communication systems (GSM) networks, fifth generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks and other communication networks. As described herein, the terms "network" and "system" can be used interchangeably.

OFDMA network can realize radio technology such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 702.11, IEEE 702.16, IEEE 702.20, flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA, E-UTRA and GSM are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). In particular, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a version of UMTS using E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents provided by an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known or under development. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between telecommunications association groups to define globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specifications. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project aimed at improving UMTS mobile phone standards. 3GPP defines specifications for next generation mobile networks, mobile systems and mobile devices.

Wireless networks such as those described above can be used to make video calls between devices. When a decoder/decoder (codec) encodes a video, the coder/decoder (codec) encodes at a specific bit rate. The network can determine the maximum bit rate (MBR) allocated for the video call and indicate the maximum bit rate (MBR) to the device. The network can also indicate the application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application (e.g., a video call application). In some instances, the bit rate used is at least temporarily lower than the MBR and AS, and is dynamically adjusted based on current performance during the process of the video call. For example, if a video packet is discarded at a rate determined to be too high due to deteriorating network conditions, the device can reduce the encoding bit rate to less than the MBR and AS. However, before the video data is first communicated, there is a time period in which the device starts video communication using the smaller of the MBR and AS. Depending on the network conditions, this may cause video problems such as mosaics, freezing or jitter.

In some aspects of the disclosure, a device may proactively reduce the bit rate at which a video is encoded at the start of a call based on one or more radio metrics. The radio metrics used may include received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR), and block error rate (BER).

In one example, a device initiating a video call may receive an MBR (e.g., 1000 kbps for illustration purposes) and an AS (e.g., 1000 kbps) from the network. When configuring the encoding bitrate for a video codec, the device may first determine whether the SNR of the communication channel is above a predetermined threshold. If the SNR is high enough, the video may be encoded with the smaller of the MBR and the AS. If the SNR is below a predetermined threshold, the SNR may initially be configured as a portion of the smaller of the MBR and the AS (e.g., 80%, which would be 800 kbps in this example). In some aspects, there are multiple thresholds at which the bitrate is further reduced. For example, if the SNR is below a second predetermined threshold (lower than the first threshold), the codec may be configured to encode the video with a smaller portion of the smaller of the MBR and the AS (e.g., 50% (i.e., 500 kbps) in this example).

In another example, the MBR is 1000 kbps and the AS is 800 kbps. In this example, the percentages may be the same as in the previous example, but are relative to the AS of 800 kbps, since the 800 kbps in this example will be the smaller of the MBR and the AS.

To adjust the received video bitrate in a two-way video call, a device can also transmit a Temporary Maximum Media Stream Bitrate Request (TMMBR) to another device, requesting the other device to reduce the bitrate at which it encodes the video. After the video is transmitted and received, conventional rate adaptation can be used to dynamically adjust the bitrate.

In another example, the initial bit rate may be determined by a combination of radio metrics. For example, the device may look at both SNR and RSRP. The device may determine that if either of the two metrics drops below a corresponding threshold, the bit rate should be reduced. In other aspects, the device may reduce the bit rate only when both radio metrics drop below a corresponding threshold. In yet another aspect, the device may use a weighted sum of the metrics, and if the weighted sum drops below a predetermined threshold (e.g., a combined threshold between the various metrics), the bit rate will be reduced.

Various aspects of the present disclosure provide several benefits. For example, the displayed video may be less likely to freeze, jitter, or have mosaics at the beginning of a video call. In addition, by communicating the TMMBR to facilitate the modified received video bit rate, video quality can be improved in both directions of the video call. Additionally, when the bit rate is reduced, network resources can be used more efficiently. Devices can also save power by encoding and decoding videos at lower bit rates.

Various aspects and features of the present disclosure are further described below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein can be embodied in various forms, and any specific structure, function, or both disclosed herein are merely representative and not restrictive. Based on the teachings herein, it should be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that a certain aspect disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number of aspects described herein can be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, such a device can be implemented, or such a method can be implemented, using other structures, functions, or structures and functions other than or different from one or more aspects of the aspects described herein. For example, the method can be implemented as a part of a system, device, device, and/or as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium for execution on a processor or computer.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication network 100 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The network 100 may be a 5G network, an LTE network, or any suitable cellular network and/or a combination thereof. The network 100 includes several base stations (BSs) 105 (labeled as 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f, respectively) and other network entities. The BS 105 may be a station that communicates with the UE 115, and may also be referred to as: an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the specific geographic coverage area of the BS 105 and/or the BS subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

BS 105 can provide communication coverage for macro cells or small cells (such as micro cells or femto cells) and/or other types of cells. Macro cells generally cover relatively large geographic areas (e.g., a radius of several thousand meters) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions to network providers. Small cells (such as micro cells) generally cover relatively small geographic areas and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions to network providers. Small cells (such as femto cells) will also generally cover relatively small geographic areas (e.g., homes), and in addition to unrestricted access, can also provide restricted access by UEs associated with femto cells (e.g., UEs in closed subscriber groups (CSGs), UEs of users in homes, etc.). BSs for macro cells can be referred to as macro BSs. BSs for small cells can be referred to as small cell BSs, micro BSs, femto BSs, or home BSs. In the example shown in FIG. 1 , BS 105d and 105e may be conventional macro BSs, while BS 105a-105c may be macro BSs supporting one of three-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO. BS 105a-105c may utilize their higher-dimensional MIMO capabilities to utilize 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. BS 105f may be a small cell BS, which may be a home node or a portable access point. BS 105 may support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells.

Network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time.

UE 115 is dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, etc. UE 115 can be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. In one aspect, UE 115 can be a device including a universal integrated circuit card (UICC). On the other hand, UE can be a device that does not include UICC. In some aspects, UE 115 that does not include UICC can also be referred to as IoT device or Internet of Everything (IoE) device. UE 115a-115d is an example of a mobile smart phone type device that accesses the network 100. UE 115 can also be a machine that is specially configured for connecting communications (including machine type communications (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), etc.). UE 115e-115h are examples of various machines configured for communication to access network 100. UE 115i-115k are examples of vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured for sidelink communication and access network 100. UE 115 may be able to communicate with other UE 115 or wireless nodes or any type of BS (whether macro BS, small cell, etc.). In FIG. 1, lightning (e.g., communication link) indicates wireless transmission between UE 115 and serving BS 105 (which is a BS designated to serve UE 115 on downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL)), desired transmission between BS 105, backhaul transmission between BSs, or sidelink transmission between UE 115.

In operation, BS 105a-105c uses 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques (such as coordinated multi-point (CoMP) or multi-connectivity) to serve UEs 115a and 115b. Macro BS 105d can perform backhaul communications with BS 105a-105c and small cell BS 105f. Macro BS 105d also transmits multicast services that UEs 115c and 115d subscribe to and receive. Such multicast services may include mobile TV or streaming video, or may include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber Alerts or Gray Alerts.

The BSs 105 may also communicate with a core network. The core network may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of the BSs 105 (e.g., which may be examples of gNBs or access node controllers (ANCs)) may interface with the core network via a backhaul link (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and may perform wireless configuration and scheduling for communications with the UE 115. In various examples, the BSs 105 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., through the core network) over a backhaul link (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which may be a wired or wireless communication link.

The network 100 may also support mission-critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission-critical devices (e.g., UE 115e, which may be a drone). The redundant communication links with UE 115e may include links from macro BSs 105d and 105e, and links from small cell BS 105f. Other machine-type devices, such as UE 115f (e.g., a thermometer), UE 115g (e.g., a smart meter), and UE 115h (e.g., a wearable device), may communicate directly with BSs such as small cell BS 105f and macro BS 105e through the network 100, or communicate through the network in a multi-step configuration by communicating with another user device such as UE 115f that communicates temperature measurement information to a smart meter (UE 115g), which then reports to the network through the small cell BS 105f, which relays its information to the network. The network 100 may also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low latency TDD/FDD communications, such as V2V, V2X, V2P and/or C-V2X communications between a UE 115i, 115j or 115k and other UEs 115, and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications between a UE 115i, 115j or 115k and one or more other wireless nodes, including by using side link communications according to the present disclosure.

In some implementations, network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveforms for communication. OFDM-based systems can divide the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. In some instances, the subcarrier spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system BW. The system BW can also be divided into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrier spacing and/or the duration of the TTI can be scalable.

In some aspects, BS 105 (or in a sidelink communication scenario, UE 115 or other wireless node) may assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RBs)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions (or sidelink transmissions). DL may refer to the transmission direction from BS 105 to UE 115, and UL may refer to the transmission direction from UE 115 to BS 105. Communication may take the form of a radio frame. A radio frame may be divided into a plurality of subframes or time slots, such as about 10. Each time slot may be further divided into micro-time slots. In FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes a UL subframe in a UL frequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. In TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions occur in different time periods using the same frequency band. For example, a subframe subset (e.g., a DL subframe) in a radio frame may be used for DL transmission, and another subframe subset (e.g., an UL subframe) in a radio frame may be used for UL transmission.

DL subframes and UL subframes can also be divided into several areas. For example, each DL or UL subframe can have a predefined area for the transmission of reference signals, control information and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals that facilitate communication between BS 105 and UE 115. For example, reference signals can have a specific pilot pattern or structure, wherein pilot tones can span an operational BW or frequency band, and each pilot tone is located at a predefined time and a predefined frequency. For example, BS 105 can transmit a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) and/or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) to enable UE 115 to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, UE 115 can transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) to enable BS 105 (or other UEs or wireless nodes) to estimate an UL channel (or a side link channel). Control information may include resource assignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and/or operational data. In some aspects, BS 105 and UE 115 can communicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframe may include a portion for DL communication and a portion for UL communication. A self-contained subframe may be DL-centric or UL-centric. The duration of a DL-centric subframe for DL communication may be longer than the duration for UL communication. The duration of a UL-centric subframe for UL communication may be longer than the duration for UL communication.

In some aspects, the network 100 may be an NR network deployed on a licensed spectrum. In some other aspects, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed spectrum bands and unlicensed spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed bands such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, devices (such as BS 105 and UE115) may employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration combined with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions (e.g., side link communications), and the like.

BS 105 (or UE 115 in sidelink communication) may transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in network 100 to facilitate synchronization. BS 105 may broadcast system information associated with network 100 (e.g., including a master information block (MIB), residual system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In some instances, BS 105 may broadcast PSS, SSS, and/or MIB in the form of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) over a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and may broadcast RMSI and/or OSI over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

In some aspects, a UE 115 attempting to access the network 100 may perform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from the BS 105 or from another wireless node in the network (e.g., another UE 115 in a sidelink communication). The PSS may enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physical layer identification value. The UE 115 may then receive the SSS. The SSS may enable radio frame synchronization and may provide a cell identification value, which may be combined with the physical layer identification value to identify a cell. The PSS and SSS may be located in the center portion of the carrier or at any suitable frequency within the carrier.

After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE 115 may receive the MIB. The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and/or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE 115 may receive the RMSI and/or OSI. The RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, control resource sets (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH), physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

After obtaining the MIB, RMSI and/or OSI, the UE 115 may perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS 105. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a four-step random access procedure. For example, the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble, and the BS 105 may respond with a random access response. The random access response (RAR) may include a detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, UL authorization, a temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and/or a backoff indicator. Upon receiving the random access response, the UE 115 may transmit a connection request to the BS 105 and the BS 105 may respond with a connection response. The connection response may indicate contention resolution. In some examples, the random access preamble, the RAR, the connection request, and the connection response may be referred to as message 1 (MSG1), message 2 (MSG2), message 3 (MSG3), and message 4 (MSG4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure may be a two-step random access procedure, where the UE 115 may transmit a random access preamble and a connection request in a single transmission, and the BS 105 may respond by transmitting a random access response and a connection response in a single transmission.

After establishing the connection, the UE 115 and the BS 105 may enter a normal operation phase, in which operation data may be exchanged. For example, the BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 for UL and/or DL communications. The BS 105 may transmit UL and/or DL scheduling grants to the UE 115 via the PDCCH. The scheduling grant may be transmitted in the form of DL control information (DCI). The BS 105 may transmit DL communication signals (e.g., carrying data) to the UE 115 via the PDSCH according to the DL scheduling grant. The UE 115 may transmit UL communication signals to the BS 105 via the PUSCH and/or PUCCH according to the UL scheduling grant.

In some aspects, BS 105 may communicate with UE 115 using HARQ technology to improve communication reliability, for example, to provide URLLC services. BS 105 may schedule UE 115 to perform PDSCH communication by transmitting DL grant in PDCCH. BS 105 may transmit DL data packets to UE 115 according to the scheduling in PDSCH. DL data packets may be transmitted in the form of transport blocks (TBs). If UE 115 successfully receives the DL data packet, UE 115 may transmit HARQ ACK to BS 105. Conversely, if UE 115 fails to successfully receive the DL transmission, UE 115 may transmit HARQ NACK to BS 105. Once HARQ NACK is received from UE 115, BS 105 retransmits the DL data packet to UE 115. The retransmission may include a decoded version of the DL data that is the same as the initial transmission. Alternatively, the retransmission may include a decoded version of the DL data that is different from the initial transmission. The UE 115 may apply soft combining to combine the coded data received from the initial transmission and the retransmission for decoding. The BS 105 and the UE 115 may also apply HARQ for UL communications using a substantially similar mechanism as DL HARQ.

In some aspects, the network 100 may operate on a system BW or a component carrier (CC) BW. The network 100 may divide the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., bandwidth portions). The BS 105 may dynamically assign the UE 115 to operate on a specific BWP (e.g., a specific portion of the system BW). The assigned BWP may be referred to as an active BWP. The UE 115 may monitor the active BWP to find signaling information from the BS 105. The BS 105 may schedule the UE 115 to perform UL or DL communications in the active BWP. In some aspects, the BS 105 may assign a pair of BWPs within the CC to the UE 115 for UL and DL communications. For example, the BWP pair may include a BWP for UL communications and a BWP for DL communications.

Although much of the above description of the network 100 is in the context of communications between the UE 115 and the BS 105, it should be understood that in a sidelink communication scenario, the mechanisms, elements, structures, and protocols described above may be performed between the UE 115 or wireless nodes. For example, in some aspects, the radio frame structure, channels, signals, scheduling procedures, and/or connection techniques (e.g., HARQ) may be performed between the UE 115/wireless nodes rather than between the BS 105 and the UE 115.

Sidelink communication refers to communication between user equipment devices (e.g., UE 115i, 115j, 115k) without tunneling BS 105 and/or core network. Sidelink communication can be communicated on physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH). As described above, PSCCH and PSSCH are similar to physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in downlink (DL) communication between BS 105 and UE 115. For example, PSCCH can carry sidelink control information (SCI) and PSSCH can carry sidelink data (e.g., user data). Each PSCCH is associated with a corresponding PSSCH, wherein the SCI in the PSCCH can carry reservation and/or scheduling information for sidelink data transmission in the associated PSSCH.

By utilizing sidelink communications, a UE 115 may communicate with another UE 115 that is independent of the BS 105, and/or cooperate with another UE 115 to communicate with the BS 105. For example, a UE 115 may communicate via a cooperative sidelink using unlicensed spectrum, which may ensure that all licensed spectrum remains available to the network 100 (while in other examples, a licensed spectrum or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum may be used). In this way, network resources may be more fully utilized, and/or a UE 115 that has difficulty communicating reliably with the BS 105 may use its resources to communicate via a cooperating UE 115, which may be a more reliable link.

BS 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by BS 105 in different directions. For example, BS 105 may transmit signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as BS 105) or by a receiving device (such as UE 115)) beam directions for later transmission or reception by BS 105. Some signals (e.g., data associated with a particular receiving device) may be transmitted in a single beam direction. In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmission along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals that have been transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by BS 105 in different directions, and may report to BS 105 an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

In some examples, transmission by a device (e.g., by BS 105 or UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from BS 105 to UE 115). UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. BS 105 may transmit reference signals (e.g., CRS, CSI-RS, etc.) that may or may not be precoded. UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-faceted codebook, a linear combination codebook, a port selection codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by BS 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to transmit signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115), or to transmit signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a receiving device).

A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from BS 105. For example, the receiving device may try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single reception configuration may be aligned on a beam direction determined based on sensing according to different reception configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based on sensing according to multiple beam directions).

In some aspects, the devices in the network 100 can support video telephony (VT), which includes video calls between devices. For example, two UEs 115 can each record a video, encode the video, and stream the video to each other over the network. The network can impose restrictions on the UE 115, such as the maximum bit rate (MBR) allocated for the video call and/or the application-specific maximum bandwidth allocated to a specific application.

In some aspects, a UE 115 may measure radio metrics associated with a video call between itself and another UE 115. The UE 115 may determine an initial bit rate for conducting the video call over the network 100 based on the received MBR, the received AS, and the radio metrics, the initial bit rate being lower than the smaller of the MBR and the AS. Aspects of the present disclosure may also be performed between devices that are not part of the network 100. For example, wired devices or devices using other wireless technologies.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 200 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In some instances, BS 200 may be BS 105 in network 100 as discussed in FIG. 1 above. As shown, BS 200 may include a processor 202, a memory 204, a video phone module 208, a transceiver 210 including a modem subsystem 212 and an RF unit 214, and one or more antennas 216. These elements may be coupled to each other. The term "coupled" may refer to being directly or indirectly coupled or connected to one or more intervening elements. For example, these elements may communicate directly or indirectly with each other, such as via one or more buses.

The processor 202 may have various features as a particular type of processor. For example, these features may include a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 202 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The memory 204 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor 202), a RAM, an MRAM, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, a flash memory, a solid-state memory device, one or more hard disk drives, an array based on a memristor, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In some aspects, the memory 204 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 204 may store instructions 206. The instructions 206 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 202, cause the processor 202 to perform the operations described herein (e.g., the various aspects of Figures 1 to 6). The instructions 206 may also be referred to as program code. The program code may be used to cause the wireless communication device to perform these operations, for example, by causing one or more processors (such as the processor 202) to control or command the wireless communication device to do so to perform these operations. The terms "instructions" and "codes" should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statements. For example, the terms "instructions" and "codes" may refer to one or more programs, routines, subroutines, functions, processes, etc. "Instructions" and "code" may comprise a single computer-readable statement or multiple computer-readable statements.

The video phone module 208 may perform the functions described with reference to other figures herein. The video phone module 208 may assist the UE 115 in performing a video call. For example, the phone module 208 may establish a communication channel for a video call between two UEs 115 and indicate to each of the UEs 115 the maximum bit rate (MBR) allocated to them for the video call. The video phone module 208 may also indicate an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with a specific application (e.g., a video call application) allocated to the UE 115. The video phone module 208 may provide radio metric information to the UE 115, such as channel measurements performed at the BS 200. The video phone module 208 may also transmit a reference signal to the UE 115 so that the receiving UE 115 may perform corresponding channel measurements.

As shown, the transceiver 210 may include a modem subsystem 212 and an RF unit 214. The transceiver 210 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices, such as the UE 115 and/or another core network element. The modem subsystem 212 may be configured to modulate and/or encode data according to an MCS (e.g., an LDPC decoding scheme, a turbo decoding scheme, a convolutional decoding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). The RF unit 214 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data (e.g., video data) from the modem subsystem 212 (for outbound transmissions) or from another source, such as the UE 115. The RF unit 214 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in transceiver 210, modem subsystem 212 and/or RF unit 214 may be separate devices that are coupled together at BS 105 to enable BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 214 may provide modulated and/or processed data (e.g., data packets (or more generally, data messages that may include one or more data packets and other information)) to the antenna 216 for transmission to one or more other devices. The antenna 216 may further receive data messages transmitted from the other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver 210. The transceiver 210 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., video data) to the video phone module 208 for processing. The antenna 216 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. In some aspects, the antenna 216 may be in the form of one or more antenna panels or one or more antenna arrays, each including multiple antenna elements, which may be selectively configured with different gains and/or phases to generate beams for transmission and/or reception.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 300 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In some instances, UE 300 may be UE 115 as discussed above with respect to FIG. 1 . As shown, UE 300 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, a video phone module 308, a transceiver 310 including a modem subsystem 312 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 314, and one or more antennas 316. These elements may be coupled to each other. The term "coupled" may refer to being directly or indirectly coupled or connected to one or more intervening elements. For example, these elements may communicate directly or indirectly with each other, for example, via one or more buses.

The processor 302 may include a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. The processor 302 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The memory 304 may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor 302), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a flash memory, a solid-state memory device, a hard disk drive, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In one aspect, the memory 304 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory 304 may store or have recorded thereon instructions 306. The instructions 306 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 302, cause the processor 302 to perform the operations described herein with reference to the UE 115 in conjunction with various aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., various aspects of Figures 1 to 6). The instructions 306 may also be referred to as program code, which may be broadly interpreted as including any type of computer-readable statements as discussed above with respect to Figure 2.

The video phone module 308 can perform the functions described with reference to other figures herein. The video phone module 308 can establish a video call with another UE 300 via the BS 105. The video phone module 308 can receive the MBR assigned to the video call from the BS 105. The video phone module 208 can also receive the AS assigned to the video call application from the BS 105. The measurements performed can be performed by the video phone module 308 to determine, for example, radio metrics on one or more reference signals transmitted by the BS 200 as mentioned above with respect to Figures 1 and 2, such as received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal to noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR) and block error rate (BER). The video phone module 308 can also receive a message indicating the radio metric from the BS 105.

Before transmitting and receiving video with another UE 300, the video phone module can actively configure the bit rate of video encoding to a value lower than the indicated MBR and AS. The determination of what bit rate to use can be based on the radio metric discussed above. For example, the video phone module 308 can determine that when SNR (or another radio metric) is lower than a predetermined threshold, the video bit rate should be reduced by a certain amount (e.g., reduced to 80% of MBR). In some aspects, there may be several thresholds where the bit rate is gradually reduced. As an example, if SNR is lower than a first threshold, the bit rate is set to 80% of MBR, if SNR is further lower than a second lower threshold, the bit rate is set to 60% of MBR, and if SNR is further lower than a third lower threshold, the bit rate is set to 40% of MBR, and so on. In another example, the video phone module 308 can have different corresponding thresholds for multiple radio metrics, and if any of these radio metrics drops below (or rises to above) their corresponding predetermined thresholds depending on the metric, the video bit rate is adjusted accordingly. Similarly, the video phone module 308 can adjust the video bit rate only in response to all radio metrics exceeding the corresponding threshold. In another example, the video phone module 308 determines a total score based on a weighted sum of multiple radio metrics. When this score is below a predetermined threshold, the video phone module 308 can reduce the video bit rate accordingly.

In addition to setting the bit rate of its own video codec, the video telephony module may also transmit a message to another UE 300 (which is part of the video call) requesting that the other UE transmit video at a lower bit rate. This message may be, for example, a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR). The video telephony module 308 may determine that the bit rate requested from the other UE 300 is the same as the bit rate determined by the video telephony module for itself, or a different value (e.g., when the DL channel is worse than the UL channel).

After determining the initial video bit rate, the video phone module 308 can encode the video and transmit the video to another UE 300 that is communicating with the video phone module. The video phone module 308 can also receive the video and decode the video. After transmitting and receiving the video, the bit rate can be dynamically adapted based on the video stream using the old method.

As shown, the transceiver 310 may include a modem subsystem 312 and an RF unit 314. The transceiver 310 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices, such as the BS 105. The modem subsystem 312 may be configured to modulate and/or encode data from the memory 304 and/or the video phone module 308 according to a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) (e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) decoding scheme, a turbo decoding scheme, a convolutional decoding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc.). The RF unit 314 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) the modulated/encoded data (e.g., video data) from the modem subsystem 312 (for outbound transmissions) or a transmission originating from another source, such as another UE 115 or the BS 105. The RF unit 314 may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in the transceiver 310, the modem subsystem 312 and the RF unit 314 may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE 300 to enable the UE 300 to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit 314 may provide modulated and/or processed data (e.g., data packets (or more generally, data messages that may include one or more data packets and other information)) to the antenna 316 for transmission to one or more other devices. The antenna 316 may further receive data messages transmitted from the other devices. The antenna 316 may provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver 310. The transceiver 310 may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., video data) to the video phone module 308 for processing. The antenna 316 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. The RF unit 314 may configure the antenna 316. In some aspects, the antenna 316 may be in the form of one or more antenna panels or one or more antenna arrays, each of which includes multiple antenna elements, which may be selectively configured with different gains and/or phases to generate beams for transmission and/or reception.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary communication protocol diagram 400 illustrating a method of proactive bit rate reduction. Aspects of the protocol diagram 400 may be performed by a wireless network, such as network 100. Aspects of the protocol diagram may also be performed by other types of devices, including those utilizing wired communications. To simplify illustration and discussion, the communication protocol diagram 400 includes two UEs 115 without illustrating an intermediate network.

In some aspects, UE 115 may utilize one or more components, such as processor 302, memory 304, video phone module 308, transceiver 310, modem 312, and one or more antennas 316, as shown in FIG3. As illustrated, protocol diagram 400 includes several of the enumerated operations, but aspects of FIG4 may include additional operations before, after, and between the enumerated operations. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated operations may be omitted, combined together, or performed in a different order.

At action 402, UE 115a and UE 115b determine a maximum bit rate (MBR) for video communications. This determination may be made because a negotiation between the devices and/or the network through which they are communicating may indicate the MBR (e.g., the network may communicate the MBR to UE 115a and/or 115b).

At action 404, UE 115a and UE 115b determine an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS). In some aspects, AS is the maximum bandwidth associated with a specific application (here, video calling). In some aspects, AS is the same as MBR.

At action 406, UE 115a and UE 115b determine radio metrics associated with the video communication channel. Measurements may be performed by UE 115a, UE 115b, or a network device such as BS 105 to determine the radio metrics. UE 115a may receive a report from UE 115b or BS 105 indicating the radio metrics determined by these devices. Examples of radio metrics determined at action 402 include: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR), and block error rate (BER).

At action 408, UE 115a determines the starting bit rate for encoding the video. This determination can be based on the radio metric determined at action 406. For example, UE 115a can determine that when SNR (or another radio metric) is below a predetermined threshold, the video bit rate should be reduced by a certain amount (e.g., to 80% of the smaller of MBR and AS). In some aspects, there may be several thresholds at which the bit rate gradually decreases. As an example, if SNR is below a first threshold, the bit rate is set to 80% of the smaller of MBR and AS, if SNR is further below a second lower threshold, the bit rate is set to 60% of the smaller of MBR and AS, and if SNR is further below a third lower threshold, the bit rate is set to 40% of the smaller of MBR and AS, and so on. In another example, UE 115a can have different corresponding thresholds for multiple radio metrics, and if any of these radio metrics drops below (or rises above) their corresponding predetermined thresholds depending on the metric, the video bit rate is adjusted accordingly. In another example, UE 115a may adjust the video bit rate only when each of the radio metrics drops below a corresponding predetermined threshold. In yet another example, UE 115a determines a total score based on a weighted sum of multiple radio metrics. When this score is below a predetermined threshold, UE 115a may reduce the video bit rate accordingly.

At act 410, UE 115a configures the video encoder based on the bit rate determined at act 408. The frame rate, resolution, or other characteristics of the encoded video may be adjusted so that the encoder meets the configured bit rate.

At action 412, UE 115a communicates a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to UE 115b. The TMMBR indicates the requested bit rate that UE 115b uses when encoding the video to be sent to UE 115a. The bit rate indicated in the TMMBR may also be determined based on radio metrics, as described with respect to action 408. The bit rate requested in the TMMBR may be the same bit rate as the bit rate used to configure the encoder at action 410, or may be different. In some aspects, this action is omitted, and UE 115a receives video data from UE 115b at the bit rate determined by UE 115b.

At act 414, video data is communicated between UE 115a and UE 11b at the determined bit rate.

At action 416, the UE 115a may perform rate adaptation to adjust the bit rate further based on the performance of the communication of the actual video data.

At act 418, video data may continue to be communicated between UE 115a and UE 115b at the updated bit rate.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating a method 500 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Various aspects of the method 500 may be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and/or another suitable component) of a wireless communication device or another suitable component for performing steps. For example, a UE (e.g., UE 115 of FIG. 1 ) may utilize one or more components, such as a processor 302, a memory 304, a video phone module 308, a transceiver 310, a modem 312, and one or more antennas 316, as shown in FIG. 3 . As illustrated, the method 500 includes several of the enumerated steps, but various aspects of the method 500 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumerated steps. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

At block 505 , a first device receives a maximum bit rate (MBR) from a network for video communications with a second device.

At block 510, the first device receives an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) from a network associated with the application. In some aspects, the application is a video call application. The AS may be the same as the MBR, but may also be higher or lower. In addition, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, blocks 505 and 510 may occur simultaneously, block 505 may occur before block 510, or block 510 may occur before block 505.

At block 515, the first device measures and/or receives measurements of one or more radio metrics associated with communication with the second device. The measurements may be performed by the first device, the second device, or a network device to determine the radio metrics. The first device may receive a report from the second device or the network device indicating the radio metrics determined by these devices. Examples of radio metrics determined at block 515 include: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal received quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR), and block error rate (BER).

At block 520, the first device determines a starting bit rate for the video codec based on the MBR, the AS, and the one or more radio metrics. As discussed with respect to action 408 of FIG. 4, the determination may be based on a single radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold, one of a plurality of radio metrics exceeding a corresponding predetermined threshold, or a fraction of a weighted sum of a plurality of radio metrics exceeding a predetermined threshold. The first device may also use other methods for making bit rate determinations based on one or more radio metrics.

At block 525 , the first device configures the codec to encode the video based on the determined starting bit rate.

At block 530, the first device transmits a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second device. The TMMBR indicates the requested bit rate that the second device uses when encoding the video to be sent to the first device. The bit rate indicated in the TMMBR may also be determined based on radio metrics, as described with respect to block 520. The bit rate requested in the TMMBR may be the same bit rate as the bit rate used to configure the encoder at block 525, or may be different. In some aspects, this action is omitted, and the first device receives video data from the second device at a bit rate determined by the second device.

At block 535 , the first device transmits video data to the second device and receives video data from the second device at the determined starting bit rate.

At block 540 , the first device performs rate adaptation after transmitting and receiving the video data.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flow chart illustrating method 600. Method 600 is an example of a method by which an active bit rate can be determined according to some aspects of the present disclosure. Various aspects of method 600 can be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, a processing circuit, and/or another suitable component) of a wireless communication device or another suitable component for performing steps. For example, a UE (e.g., UE 115 of FIG. 1 ) can utilize one or more components, such as a processor 302, a memory 304, a video phone module 308, a transceiver 310, a modem 312, and one or more antennas 316 shown in FIG. 3 . As illustrated, method 600 includes several of the enumerated steps, but various aspects of method 600 can include additional steps before, after, and between the enumerated steps. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated steps can be omitted or performed in a different order.

Blocks 605 , 610 , and 615 are performed identically to blocks 505 and 515 described with respect to FIG. 5 .

At decision block 620, the first device determines whether the radio metric is below a first predetermined threshold. For example, the first device may determine whether the RSRQ is less than -10 dB. If the radio metric is not below the predetermined threshold, the method 600 proceeds to block 625, where the first device configures the codec with the smaller of the MBR and the AS. Otherwise, if the radio metric is below the predetermined threshold (e.g., if the RSRQ is less than -10 dB), the method 600 proceeds to decision block 630.

At decision block 630, the first device determines whether the radio metric is below a second predetermined threshold. For example, the first device may determine whether the RSRQ is less than -15 dB. If the radio metric is not below the predetermined threshold, the method 600 proceeds to block 635, where the first device configures the codec at a percentage of the smaller of the MBR and the AS (e.g., 80%). Otherwise, if the radio metric is below the predetermined threshold (e.g., if the RSRQ is less than -15 dB), the method 600 proceeds to block 640, where the first device configures the codec at an even lower percentage of the smaller of the MBR and the AS (e.g., 50%).

The present disclosure also includes the following aspects:

Aspect 1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, by the first wireless communication device, an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

receiving, by the first wireless communication device, an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

configuring, by the first wireless communication device before transmitting video data, an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric;

as well as

The video data is transmitted by the first wireless communication device to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

Aspect 2. A method according to aspect 1, wherein the radio metric includes at least one of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal reception quality (RSRQ), received signal reception power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR) or block error rate (BER).

Aspect 3. A method according to any one of aspects 1 to 2, wherein the configuration is based on the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 4. A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and is configured to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

Aspect 5. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on a weighted sum of the first radio metric and the second radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 6. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding a respective predetermined threshold.

Aspect 7. The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, further comprising:

A temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) is transmitted by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device before transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a reception bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS.

Aspect 8. The method according to aspect 7 further includes:

Second video data is received by the first wireless communication device from the second wireless communication device at the reception bit rate.

Aspect 9. A first wireless communication device, comprising:

A transceiver, the transceiver being configured to:

receiving an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

receiving an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

as well as

measuring a radio metric associated with the communication channel; and a processor configured to:

Before transmitting the video data, configuring an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric; and the transceiver is further configured to:

The video data is transmitted to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

Aspect 10. A first wireless communication device according to Aspect 9, wherein the radio metric comprises at least one of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal reception quality (RSRQ), received signal reception power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR) or block error rate (BER).

Aspect 11. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 9 to 10, wherein the configuration is based on the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 12. A first wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 9 to 11, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and is configured to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

Aspect 13. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 9 to 11, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on a weighted sum of the first radio metric and the second radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 14. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 9 to 11, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding a respective predetermined threshold.

Aspect 15. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 9 to 14, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

A temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) is transmitted to the second wireless communication device before transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a receive bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS.

Aspect 16. The first wireless communication device according to aspect 15, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

Second video data is received from the second wireless communication device at the reception bit rate.

Aspect 17. A non-transitory computer readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

code for causing a first wireless communication device to receive an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

code for causing the first wireless communication device to receive an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

code for causing the first wireless communication device to measure a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

code for causing the first wireless communication device to configure an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric before transmitting video data; and

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

Aspect 18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to Aspect 17, wherein the radio metric comprises at least one of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal reception quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR) or block error rate (BER).

Aspect 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of aspects 17 to 18, wherein configuring is based on the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to any one of Aspects 17 to 19, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and is configured to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

Aspect 21. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to any one of aspects 17 to 19, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on a weighted sum of the first radio metric and the second radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 22. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to any one of aspects 17 to 19, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding a respective predetermined threshold.

Aspect 23. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to any one of aspects 17 to 22, further comprising:

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second wireless communication device before transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a receive bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS.

Aspect 24. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to aspect 23, further comprising:

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to receive second video data from the second wireless communication device at the reception bit rate.

Aspect 25. A first wireless communication device comprising:

means for receiving, by a first wireless communication device, an indication of a maximum bit rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

means for receiving an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

means for measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

means for configuring, by the first wireless communication device, an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metric prior to transmitting video data; and

Means for transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

Aspect 26. A first wireless communication device according to Aspect 25, wherein the radio metric includes at least one of the following: received signal strength indicator (RSSI), received signal reception quality (RSRQ), received signal received power (RSRP), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power headroom (PHR) or block error rate (BER).

Aspect 27. A first wireless communication device according to any one of Aspects 25 to 26, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and is configured to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

Aspect 28. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 25 to 26, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on a weighted sum of the first radio metric and the second radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

Aspect 29. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 25 to 26, wherein:

The radio metric comprises a first radio metric, and

The configuring is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding a respective predetermined threshold.

Aspect 30. The first wireless communication device according to any one of aspects 25 to 29, further comprising:

Means for transmitting, by the first wireless communication device to the second wireless communication device prior to transmitting the video data, a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a receive bit rate below the MBR and below the AS.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

The functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium, or transmitted on a computer-readable medium. Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above can be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination thereof executed by a processor. The features that implement the functions can also be physically located at different locations, including being distributed so that the various parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations. In addition, as used herein (including in the claims), "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., "or" used in a list of items ending with phrases such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of [at least one of A, B, or C] means: A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Unless otherwise specified, the terms "about" or "approximately" can be used to represent a range of +/-2%.

As those skilled in the art will understand by now and depending on the specific application at hand, many modifications, substitutions and changes may be made to the materials, devices, configurations and methods of use of the apparatus of the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In view of this, the scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the specific aspects illustrated and described herein (as they are only some examples of the present disclosure), but should be fully equivalent to the attached claims and their functional equivalents.

Claims (30)

1. A method of wireless communication, comprising:

receiving, by a first wireless communication device, an indication of a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

Receiving, by the first wireless communication device, an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

Measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

Configuring, by the first wireless communication device, an encoder with a transmission bit rate below the MBR and below the AS based on the radio metrics prior to transmitting video data; and

Transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio metrics comprise at least one of: a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a Power Headroom (PHR), or a Block Error Rate (BER).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring is based on the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on a weighted sum of the first and second radio metrics exceeding a predetermined threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding respective predetermined thresholds.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

Transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second wireless communication device prior to transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a received bit rate below the MBR and below the AS.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

Second video data is received by the first wireless communication device from the second wireless communication device at the receiving bit rate.

9. A first wireless communication device, comprising:

a transceiver configured to:

Receiving an indication of a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

receiving an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application; and

Measuring a radio metric associated with the communication channel; and

A processor configured to:

configuring an encoder with a transmission bit rate lower than the MBR and lower than the AS based on the radio metrics prior to transmitting video data; and

The transceiver is further configured to:

transmitting the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

10. The first wireless communications device of claim 9, wherein said radio metrics include at least one of: a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a Power Headroom (PHR), or a Block Error Rate (BER).

11. The first wireless communications device of claim 9, wherein configuring is based upon the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

12. The first wireless communication device of claim 11, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

13. The first wireless communications device of claim 9, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on a weighted sum of the first and second radio metrics exceeding a predetermined threshold.

14. The first wireless communications device of claim 9, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding respective predetermined thresholds.

15. The first wireless communication device of claim 9, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

Transmitting a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second wireless communication device prior to transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a received bit rate below the MBR and below the AS.

16. The first wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the transceiver is further configured to:

second video data is received from the second wireless communication device at the receiving bit rate.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon, the program code comprising:

code for causing a first wireless communication device to receive an indication of a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to receive an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to measure a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to configure an encoder with a transmission bit rate below the MBR and below the AS based on the radio metrics prior to transmitting video data; and

The apparatus includes means for causing the first wireless communication device to transmit the video teaching data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the radio metrics include at least one of: a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a Power Headroom (PHR), or a Block Error Rate (BER).

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein configuring is based on the radio metric exceeding a predetermined threshold.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to a first value based on the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold, and to a second value based on the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on a weighted sum of the first and second radio metrics exceeding a predetermined threshold.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding respective predetermined thresholds.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, further comprising:

The apparatus includes means for transmitting a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second wireless communication device prior to transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a received bit rate below the MBR and below the AS.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, further comprising:

Code for causing the first wireless communication device to receive second video data from the second wireless communication device at the receiving bit rate.

25. A first wireless communication device, comprising:

Means for receiving, by a first wireless communication device, an indication of a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) associated with a communication channel;

means for receiving an indication of an application-specific maximum bandwidth (AS) associated with an application;

Means for measuring, by the first wireless communication device, a radio metric associated with the communication channel;

Means for configuring, by the first wireless communication device, an encoder with a transmission bit rate below the MBR and below the AS based on the radio metrics prior to transmitting video data; and

Transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, the video data to a second wireless communication device at the transmission bit rate.

26. The first wireless communications device of claim 25, wherein said radio metrics include at least one of: a Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), a Received Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), a Received Signal Received Power (RSRP), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a Power Headroom (PHR), or a Block Error Rate (BER).

27. The first wireless communications device of claim 25, wherein the transmission bit rate is configured to be a first value based upon the radio metric exceeding a first predetermined threshold but not exceeding a second predetermined threshold and to be a second value based upon the radio metric exceeding both the first predetermined threshold and the second predetermined threshold.

28. The first wireless communications device of claim 25, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on a weighted sum of the first and second radio metrics exceeding a predetermined threshold.

29. The first wireless communications device of claim 25, wherein:

The radio metrics include a first radio metric, and

The configuration is based on either the first radio metric or the second radio metric exceeding respective predetermined thresholds.

30. The first wireless communications device of claim 25, further comprising:

Means for transmitting, by the first wireless communication device, a temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) to the second wireless communication device prior to transmitting the video data, the temporary maximum media stream bit rate request (TMMBR) indicating a received bit rate below the MBR and below the AS.